Turning pages: Gil G. Chua and partners begin new chapter as GGC Group Asia

Walking into Gil G. Chua’s office, you’ll get an immediate glimpse into his interests and the facets of his personality. Paintings and cherished awards dot every wall panel. Tables are filled with trinkets, and a fortune bowl, which he generously invites visitors to help themselves to for a bit of luck. A collection of ornaments and prized sculptures stand proud on his work desk, along with one thing he absolutely has to have at all times: a refreshing glass of water.

His room, full of knickknacks and achievements he has accumulated over the years, is a perfect reflection of himself: delightfully eclectic and undoubtedly brilliant.

_{“Our leadership, our people, our culture will remain the same,” Gil G. Chua, Chairman and CEO of GGC Group Asia said.}

For 48 years, Gil has helped shape the Philippine advertising industry into what it is at present; in turn, it has also molded the man he is now. He joined the industry at the sprightly young age of 19 through the pioneering Filipino-owned agency Advertising Marketing and Associates (AMA). Then, in 1992, the groundbreaking partnership between AMA and New York-based DDB Worldwide LLC (DDB) created DDB Group Philippines, where he led as chairman and chief executive officer for decades.

Gil has set his sights on an equally promising new horizon.

New name, same values

Under a new identity, DDB Group Philippines’ legacy lives on through GGC Group Asia — a move that reflects a broader Filipino-led enterprise with the ability to deliver a full spectrum of solutions: from advertising, public relations, and media planning and buying to logistics and other marketing and sales support services.

“The beauty of the DDB Group, and now GGC Group Asia, is that we’ve always been Filipino-led for the past 33 years. Our leadership, our people, our culture will remain the same,” Gil G. Chua, Chairman and CEO of GGC Group Asia, said in an exclusive interview with adobo Magazine.

The new group comprises 14 companies operating across 18 office locations nationwide, with a combined workforce of more than 7,500 employees. The core agencies which are also rebranding as part of the transition are Alab MNL (formerly DDB MNL), Velocity+ (formerly DDB PHL), and The Tribe (formerly Tribal Worldwide). Together, these agencies guide GGC Group Asia into its inevitable success.

The leaders of these core agencies shared their own perspectives on this significant change exclusively with adobo Magazine:

_{“Finally, we would have the opportunity to be able to showcase what we’re really made of, to be able to showcase the real talent behind Alab MNL,” said Alab MNL Managing Director and GGC Group Asia Co-Chief Operating Officer Vina Henson.}

“My mentor, Gil, has always taught me to look at opportunities behind every challenge, and when this was presented to us, I actually saw the excitement behind the change. Finally, we would have the opportunity to showcase what we’re really made of, to be able to showcase the real talent behind Alab MNL. So, yes, we are very excited about this transition,” Alab MNL Managing Director and GGC Group Asia Co-Chief Operating Officer Vina Henson shared.

_{“It signified a deliberate shift from system structure based on the network to actually doing things in how we believe great work should be done,” said Velocity+ Managing Director and GGC Group Asia Chief Growth Officer John Lucas.}

Velocity+ Managing Director and GGC Group Asia Chief Growth Officer John Lucas said, “Personally and professionally, it signified a deliberate shift from system structure based on the network to actually doing things in how we believe great work should be done, how we should grow our teams, and grow our clients’ business.”

“Personally, I am super grateful to build a future with more possibilities for Asia, and what excites me is that we can now follow the problem and opportunity wherever it needs to be solved. And we are now free to partner with the best in class tools, frameworks that are best fit for our clients and can be brand agnostic already. And the best thing I think, is that our clients will now have that one point of contact that is truly end-to-end for all of the solutions that they need, even up to logistics. So, beyond cross-selling business units, we can actually now cross-link solutions for them,” said The Tribe Managing Director Diane Chua.

_{“Our clients will now have that one point of contact that is truly end-to-end for all of the solutions that they need,” said The Tribe Managing Director Diane Chua.}

The secret sauce of success

After spending most of his life in advertising, Gil has perfected the “secret sauce” of success, which he brings with him to GGC Group Asia.

“We are in the business of creating relationships with the brand, with the client. Dagdagan mo na lang ng (Just add) trusting relationship. In addition to that, I learned that ‘pag sinamahan mo pa ng (if you include) integrity as part of your secret sauce, you will be very successful in the advertising industry. So, integrity, trusting relationship — perfect combination,” he revealed.

He underscored the importance of keeping the human touch alive as technology and advanced tools made their way into the agency group’s work, saying, “Our clients are not machines. Our clients are people, and I don’t think AI can invite you for coffee or have lunch!” he quipped. “Since we’re dealing with humans, we should always be human.”

Having worked with Gil the longest, Vina’s own leadership style complements his the most. And she makes sure to apply this at Alab MNL: “My leadership style is growth first, which builds directly on Gil’s people-first foundation,” she shared. “As a leader, I find that business growth must translate into better lives for the people building Alab every day. This means focusing on holistic growth, upscaling our team, expanding our agency’s capabilities to give better value to our clients, and securing long-term success.”

For John, his leadership relies on three pillars: “The three pillars that I’m looking at are really more on strategic clarity, wherein we have to be really clear on these issues, at the same time the right solutions to address the issues. Courage in creativity, wherein we believe to not approach it in a conventional way to solve a problem. Third would be more on cultural intelligence, wherein we believe that great work impacts culture; at the same time, it becomes part of culture. In Velocity+, we believe that we have to help brands make the shift.”

As the youngest of the core leaders, Diane takes care of the group’s most youthful agency, and she does so with thoughtful tenacity and compassion for both her team members and clients: “For us, it starts with empathy, understanding people’s motivations, pain points, communities, and what they want to belong to. We call ourselves ‘growth engineers,’ and our role is really to surround the right challenge with the right people. And the best part of The Tribe, I guess, is our real understanding of belonging, community, and shared behavior, and we help brands move from simply reaching audiences to building real connections and real growth.”

Championing Filipino excellence

Gil and the leaders of the core agencies recognize outstanding Filipino talent. And now that they are embarking on this new venture with GGC Group Asia, they are more motivated to showcase what local creatives are capable of.

“Every time I go and attend a regional event, a Filipino is either running the creative division or running the company. Filipinos are good,” Gil emphasized. “Ang kulang lang sa atin is mabigyan sila ng opportunity. Isa yan sa mga pangarap ko. (What we’re lacking is giving them an opportunity. That’s one of my aspirations.) That’s why we named ourselves GGC Group Asia. One day, we just hope that we’ll be able to provide that opportunity for Filipinos to work in a Filipino brand, probably in Singapore or in Hong Kong,” he mused.

Sharing how this idea of Filipino excellence is practiced at GGC Group Asia, Gil specified it’s in the culture and in creative excellence. He also stressed that they are a people-first company, with product and profit following in that order.

14 agencies, one motivation

With 14 agencies within the group, it’s quite a feat how they all work together as cogs in a well-oiled machine. From Gil’s vantage point, the singular common denominator that drives them is being customer- and brand-centric; it’s up to the managing directors how to navigate the waters around each other.

Of the 14 agencies, Alab MNL, Velocity+, and The Tribe have proven to also be innovators in their respective fields.

Vina shared, “Alab MNL, as an agency, has always excelled in turning consumers into participants, while other campaigns are satisfied with viewership. We want action.”

In John’s words, “Velocity+ is not just a creative agency. It is a strategic and creative company, so it’s not really just doing creative work, but primarily it’s also doing strategy that will actually address clients’ issues, at the same time help them actually shift from where they are to a position that they want to be. It’s really helping clients, helping brands and businesses make the shift.”

“Apart from being award-winning in entrepreneurship and creativity, one of The Tribe’s strengths is that our leadership team has experience across different sides of the business. We have also been comfortable in collaborating to find the best solutions together, and we don’t aim to compete for the sake of competing,” said Diane. “We want the whole ecosystem, our clients, partners, sister agencies, talent, and even the industry to thrive together.”

A peek into the future

Even as GGC Group Asia remains in its early stages, it’s hard not to imagine what the future holds. With a new arena to showcase their collective strengths, Vina, John, Diane, and Gil are excited for what the next decade will bring—and the opportunities they’ll create along the way.

“If you look a decade into the future, true success for Alab is not just about scaling our revenue. It’s about building something that outlasts me. I want to see us competing with the best agencies in the world and taking our work far beyond the Philippines. The real win, though, will be stepping back and watching a new generation of leadership, the talents we’re training now to step up, take the reins, and push this agency forward,” shared Vina.

“I see GGC Group Asia and Velocity+ to be one of the most respected companies in the industry. For Velocity+ I see Velocity+ really to be also leading in helping brands and businesses in shifting from where they are to the position that they want to be. I want to be known to be really more of this, helping brands and rescuing brands rather than the awards and the trophies that can be won by the agency,” John said.

“10 years from now, GGC Group Asia will be known as one of the region’s strongest Filipino-born growth ecosystems. It’s a group that has proven Filipino creativity, technology, and leadership can be the best solution. But for me, it’s not a competition. GGC will stand for collaboration. We want the industry to thrive by building together. For The Tribe, we will be one of Asia’s leading growth engineering companies, delivering impact for business and society, and The Tribe will be where creativity becomes infrastructure for growth,” Diane hoped.

And for the man behind it all, Gil hopes that GGC Group Asia will soon be in the top five agencies in Southeast Asia. But more importantly, he wishes to give back to the industry that has molded him into the man he is today.

“I’ve worked in the advertising industry for 48 years. The advertising industry has been very kind to me. Very rewarding. And imagine mo, because of the advertising industry, I’m now employing 7,500 people, and hopefully madoble ‘yan in the next 10 years. And sana naman, one day, talagang makatulong ako sa Philippine advertising industry. Makapagbigay ako ng something na added value sa kanila.”

(“I’ve worked in the advertising industry for 48 years. The advertising industry has been very kind to me. Very rewarding. And imagine, because of the advertising industry, I’m now employing 7,500 people, and hopefully that doubles in the next 10 years. And hopefully, one day, I could really help in the Philippine advertising industry. That I could give something that’s of added value to them.”)

“Malaki ang utang na loob ko sa Philippine advertising industry. I am what I am because of the industry. Sana naman makagawa ako ng isang bagay na puwedeng ipagmalaki ng advertising industry in the Philippines.”

(“I owe a lot to the Philippine advertising industry. I am what I am because of the industry. Hopefully I could do even one thing that would be a source of pride to advertising industry in the Philippines.”)

Gil shared that while he has no plans of retiring in the near future, he hopes that when the time comes for him to hand the baton to another worthy leader, the next person taking charge will continue the legacy he has built grounded on excellence, culture, and putting people first.

And as for himself, Gil jested, “Taga-laro na lang ako ng golf n’on!” (“I would just be playing golf then!”)

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